melodiesoflife | Event || Beginning Of The End

"Understood," Chrom inclined his head gravely to Moglin. He still didn't understand the reasons behind the Sage's vision, nor why they had been summoned here now. However, he didn't feel that now was the time to question the Sage and his motivations. He did believe that Moglin was right, that the Sage did wish to help. Perhaps this time he might enlighten them on the nature of the strange vision of the future they'd endured, and why he'd seemed so displeased by the results.

He wanted to say that they would demonstrate every respect upon meeting with the Sage, but given the complaints already being voiced, there was simply no way he could guarantee such a thing. He would have to strive to be courteous and thoughtful, like Emmeryn, rather than impulsive and brash...like himself. He'd made this journey with Robin last time, and was content to let her natural charisma and diplomacy carry them through. It was time he learned to conduct himself in a similar manner.

After all, they were still dealing with an Avatar of the Calamity. They would be judged on their conduct one way or another.

"Thank you," he said to the Moogle. "You've been gracious." Then he turned to start his way up the stairs. He regretted attending in the gear of a Crystal Knight immediately. At least this would be sufficient for the day's workout.

Duster hadn't come to speak with the Sage before. He wasn't part of the vision showing them all of a terrible future. There was no personal reason to distrust the Sage nor to believe every word he said, but judging from the others' reactions, their feelings on the Avatar were complicated.

An apologetic smile was given to Moglin. She was only working for the Sage, yet she must endure so much abuse if this was how the Heroes treated her boss. His arms were relaxed by his size as not to make himself appear proud.

"I don't know what it's like to be an Avatar, but it can't be easy," he spoke as he ascended the stairs.

Sheena hadn't visited the Sage the last time, but after the vision and subsequent events after the beginning of the year... By Martel, she was going this time.

Stepping into the place, she froze, shocked. She didn't know what to expect, but this level of destruction wasn't it. But it sure got whoever's point it was across. For a moment, she stared at the image of Sephiroth, her brows crinkling before she shook her head. This wasn't the man she knew and didn't believe he'd ever be that man.

Hearing Cloud's words, she looked away from the image and nodded. "We were brought here for a reason, but every time we try to help, we're told we're wrong. Or that we don't know any better. Well, you know what? This whole thing has become a 'tradition', and this particular one has to stop--no matter how much people fear the changes that will have to occur to do so."

She knew it sounded simple-minded, but how else could it be looked at? Constant repetition of the same ceremonies, battles, then a reset...

With that said, she started to follow the Moogle, her steps determined as she took the stairs.

"Yeah, no kidding," Rialynn nodded at Duster. At least the Sage seemed like he wanted to help. He just seemed to have a hard time communicating that desire.

While she had been at the last crazy meeting, she wasn't particularly angry or upset about it. The only thing she regretted was that she'd been killed in the vision pretty early on, and thus she wasn't privy to anything else that happened afterward. There was so much she craved to know, and the big blank book she hugged in her arms was evidence enough of her expectation to fill its pages with information.

Good luck with that, bard.

She stayed close to Duster, ready to catch or steady him if his bum leg gave him any troubles on the long ascension to the top of the infinity stairs.

"I'm sure he meant well."

Leave it to Pyrrha to persistently try to see the best in someone, even when it's abundantly clear that they don't deserve it. Still, she has to believe that there was a good reason for what the Sage put them through the last time they came to Mysidia.

"We've been through a lot since the last time. We've learned things and grown stronger. Maybe this time he'll find us worthy."

Ramza was tempted to pick up a rock and throw it at the stained glass depiction of Dycedarg as he passed it, but he quelled the impulse. Violence begets violence, and such an act would only cause more trouble.

He had been quiet since reading Jade's report.

"Yes, we know much more that we did last time we spoke with the Sage. I think, now, we may know the right questions to ask."

One can hope.

Wow someone really wrecked this place. Bartz doesn't have much of an opinion regarding whether it was the sage or the cult who did the damage. Honestly he doesn't see what difference it would make.

Ramza's comment has him turning his head curiously though.

"Really? What question are you going to ask?"

Because Bartz sure doesn't know what the right questions are.

"Let's just hope the answer is a little clearer this time."

Levy's still sore about what happened last time. She's made her peace with it, but it wasn't a very pleasant experience to have to go through. She never thought anything would cause her to betray the principles of Fairy Tail, but she feels stronger for the revelation, and resolved in her path. She'll never allow herself to become the Levy from the vision - that much is certain.

"I thought his answer was clear: don't bother me with explaining anything to you people," Nanami said, bitterness in her voice. Unlike many heroes, she didn't have a problem with how she acted during the vision. She didn't remember what their plan was, but they'd had one. Mostly.

And, yet, she'd seen how it had affected Lydia and some of the others. And Nanami knew a lot of people were... more willing to take risks than her. Even if it meant dying, and taking everyone from their worlds with them.

So she was along. This seemed safe enough. "Kind of stupid we don't get the answers until we find them out for ourselves. At this point, why bother?"

Because they still had only some tiny fraction of a real plan, and they knew it.

"One thing I learned is that anyone with powers that make 'em all high 'n mighty makes 'em act just that way. No one here's given us straight answers, so why should that change now?"

Sparks wasn't even sure why he was here. Last time was just an exercise in frustration. Besides, he knows these types well. He grumbles to himself.

"Folks with all these powers who 'can't interfere'. It's the same on any planet, I guess."

He looked around at the wreckage, poking at some debris with a boot.

"Reckon whoever did this probably came in seekin' advice or somethin'. Actiin' normal at first. If it was the Cult, I bet they'd just burn this whole place to the ground."

Oh, Tsubomi remembered those visions quite well. She had to cling profusely to Levy to make sure she'd never turn out the way she did. And so far, so good!

Though, Sparks' comment did cause her to raise an eyebrow. "Maybe it was Garland. He's still out there and he might be curious about what may happen..."

"So much for handling things in a discreet manner."

As much as they all seem to be talking, they were slapped with more questions. Yuri for one didn't want want to repeat what happened in the vision if he could help it. People were too quick to decide sometimes not that he could change their ways. There's only so much one could do before they had to sit back and spectate.

He can't say he's agreed with the majority of choices that were made but he wasn't going to voice his opinions since there was no point. The mass was right, they needed answers and this time it would be better if it wasn't in a convoluted vision.

"Right, so is this Sage going to start talking or are we going to just sit here and converse amongst ourselves?"

Edited 2016-09-28 03:10 (UTC)

Rukia hadn't initially known the names of the four Heroes that had been memorialized as statues, but she'd known Kalki and Ib's images, and she was fairly certain that Nebilim wasn't the hero with the crazy eyes and perilously long nose. She noted Jade's staring at the missing head, and her troubled frown deepened further. Was this an accident, or a deliberate desecration? She had a feeling it was the latter.

But who had the power to remove an entire statue, just like that? Rather than speculate, she just decided to ask the Moogle as he'd probably been a witness, or at least heard from someone else that had been present for the wreckage.

"What did this?" she asked. It might have been a summoning that went horribly wrong, but she just wasn't sure.

Once she had her answer (if an answer was given at all), she turned toward Yuri and sighed. "You know the way. Step lively." She planted her hands against his back to herd him toward the giant staircase. If he could do it to her, then she was going to return the favor.

For the most part, Jade's report had answered most of Selphie's questions. She fully understood the brevity of the situation that they were all involved in and had followed her friends to be supportive. There wasn't much for her to say regarding what had happened in the past as she entered the tower behind Yuri and Rukia.

Her eyes widened visibly at the destruction as she tried to keep her expression neutral. There was no way to confirm what had happened here as the glass strewn across the floor crunched under her boots. Her hand was wavering close to the pommel of her sword, eyes scanning the area for anything that was hidden.

"Rukia," Selphie shuffled close to her friends. "Yuri, what happened here?"

Moglin looked down before answering the questions regarding the broken statues and stained glasses.

“We don’t know who did this, Kupo. It happened while you all were missing last month. There were many wounded but thankfully nobody died.” She shook her head. “By the time our Black Mages got here, the vandals had already fled. They tried giving pursuit but it’s as if the attackers just vanished, Kupo.”

She kept leading them all the way up into the stairs, not reply immediately.

“I understand how you feel, but…” She nodded to Sparks. “All those who knew things ended up doing horrible things, Kupo. Those people from your continent, Kalkhy, Palitootoo and the Emperor. And here we have the leader of the Cult of Narayana, Kupo.” A pause as she pondered. “Maybe… The Sage is just afraid he’ll do evil too if he acts on what he knows, Kupo?”

With that said, she stopped before the door and sat down.

“I don’t know, you should probably ask him, Kupo. He’s waiting for you.”

K'pandolu frowned, ears flattening. "A group teleport, perhaps," she suggested. A party could usually use the same energy to teleport, after all.

"What woes may come of inaction, though?" She shook her head though, and sighed. "Well- we've come. May as well hear what he's decided to say."

"You mean someone just trashed this place, because they could get away with it? What a bunch of cowards!" Lita growled, shaking a fist. "If we find out who did it, I say we clean their clocks!" It was clearly a place of worship too. If someone had done the same thing to Raye's shrine, Lita would have been livid.

In her anger, she'd almost crushed the cute little cloth-wrapped bundle cradled in her arm. Realizing this, she snapped out of her rant and smiled sheepishly, holding it out to Moglin.

"Oh, uh, I made this for you guys. Thanks for inviting us over. They're chocolate chip muffins, baked them just before we came!" She hadn't really been sure what kind of etiquette they should practice, but they'd been invited over to someone's house, so she wanted to make sure she was a good guest. "I'll help you clean this up after the meeting, too." There wasn't much she could do about the broken statues, but with a little elbow grease she was pretty sure she could get the fallen statue upright again, and sweep up the broken glass before someone got hurt.

That earnt Lita an incredulous look from Ace. Newly awakened Heroes by nature deserved a lenient treatment, but it was still difficult to imagine what sort of thinking processes must have accompanied the girl's decision to merrily walk into a meeting with an Avatar as though it was a tea party.

"What are the chances this meeting isn't already a trap?" He then glanced down at Moglin, except his words were aimed at nobody in particular. He didn't expect their Moogle host to know anything more than they did regarding the Sage's intentions, so it was merely a possibility voiced out loud. "We all wish to participate, as long as the discussion allows both parties to speak on equal grounds."

Chk- click It takes a few tries for Kaji's lighter to spark, but he deliberately and disrespectfully lights up a cigarette as they mount the stairs. He is towards the back of the group because he had hesitated in front of the fallen statue of his daughter.

"I would say that I'd be perfectly happy to listen so long as the Sage doesn't make my daughter cry again." A long drag of the cigarette. "But she's unable to join us now. So I guess it's all good then, isn't it?" Despite his anger, Kaji is still here because of the four people depicted in those statues. This might be the place to get any last answers on the black crystals.

Lust didn't slow or hesitate as she climbed the stairs, but her eyes narrowed fractionally at the description of the perpetrators. They had the ability to teleport? It did sound very familiar to their assailants in Downapolis that had attacked the Heroes of Light taking refuge there, and in the middle of the night no less. The tactic was an effective one, but cowardly.

Perhaps it was time to justify their fears when this meeting was concluded.

There was little to be done about the vandalism now, unless the workers at the temple wished the Heroes' aid in cleaning up the mess. Ramza ignored the destruction as best he could as he climbed the steps. He was pondering Bartz' question. What was the right question to ask? He could not be certain until he asked it. Until then, he could only go through all the questions in his mind and try to eliminate the wrong ones.

Moglin's description of the vandals almost sounded similiar to those that kept trying to approach the Ultima WEAPON's wreckage as well, from what he recalled of those that skirted close but always seemed to vanish before they could be caught up to. It was a little too odd for him to consider it a coincidence, but he would remain silent for a moment.

"So basically someone threw a tantrum and we got to figure out who did it. This is a wonderful mess, really."

He replied with a hand to his head as he looked around the mess. The answers at least were helpful to him to some extent. That moogle wasn't completely useless. He turns his head back to Rukia as she spoke to him and ushering him to move forward. Of course, he doesn't really fight it as he starts taking a few steps forward while acknowledging what everyone else is saying for a brief moment. There's honestly too many of them here, but it's not like it's a surprise anymore.

"It's just as what that thing said, someone probably threw a tantrum and blew up a chunk of the place while we were all MIA, to say the least."

He answered Selphie with a brief sigh.

"Trap or not, doesn't really matter. It only gets worse doesn't it?"

After all he didn't believe in any of this getting any better. He started up the staircase ahead of Lust by a few steps since Rukia was already making an effort for him to move.

Upon opening the door, they would find the very same simple room some of them had seen earlier this year. Only shelves with some small figures, old books and tobacco. Well... less tobacco than last year.

The Sage was standing before the shelves, but this time he turned around to greet the Heroes as they entered the hall.

"Don't close the door behind you, some are late."

"Some? It's not just us you need, is it?" Sonic said, first one in. "Looks like whatever's up, it's big."

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